Palakkad: Raman P (46), sporting an evening stubble and a saffron Gandhi cap, stumbled and fell back on the steps when he first tried to reach the stage where Suresh Gopi was posing for photos with his fans at Palakkad's iconic Kalpathy street.

Raman clutched a petition affixed with the photograph of his son Sarath (21), killed in a road accident. The crowd of TV journalists, fans and political supporters almost gobbled him. But Raman raised his hand with the petition and tried to stay visible.

The junior Union Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Tourism, and MP from Thrissur, was at the Brahmin settlement — renowned for its heritage homes and annual chariot festival — to seek votes for C Krishnakumar, the BJP's candidate in the Palakkad Assembly byelection. In his five-minute speech, he told the crowd that had they "thrashed up" those who opposed the three-farms laws introduced by the Union government, Palakkad's farmers would not be seeing their harvest rot on the streets without buyers. "There is no one responsible for lifting the crop. And when they do, they don't pay the farmers. These issues were brought to my notice when I was not even an MP?" he said.

"Friends, I am sincerely saying that if those three farm laws had been in place if you had thrashed up those who came to thrash the farm laws, surely these issues would not have been there," he further added. 

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on November 19, 2021, that the government would repeal these laws after farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh camped and protested outside Delhi for 380 days.

Suresh Gopi, however, urged the people to vote for Krishnakumar, who was on the stage, as revenge against the "resolution-passing Kerala government, and the gang, fondly called the Opposition, which keeps backing the government". "I am praying from Kalpathy and that prayer will be heard," he said. 

When Suresh Gopi descended from the stage and moved through the crowd, Raman held up his prayer and tried to get closer to the superstar, BJP's first Lok Sabha MP from Kerala. 

Raman managed to catch the minister’s attention, but Suresh Gopi’s response stunned him. "Ensure Krishnakumar's victory and then give the petition to him," he said, continuing to push through the jostling fans. Undeterred, Raman raised the petition high above his head and forged his way toward the actor.

In the melee, Raman’s single-sheet petition began to tear. Suresh Gopi continued to ignore him. After nearly 100 metres, as the actor and crowd reached the Sree Viswanatha Swamy Temple, a man in a black shirt finally took pity on Raman and accepted the frayed paper. Suresh Gopi carried on along the heritage street, which was being decorated for the three-day Kalpathy Ratholsavam starting November 13.

'How will I ensure Krishnakumar's victory!'
Onmanorama, following Raman, caught up with him. "I hope Suresh Gopi will give me a house," said Raman. When asked if he would vote for Krishnakumar, he replied, "How will I ensure his victory? My vote is in the Malampuzha constituency."

His house is around 4km from Kalpathy, at Kuzhiyakkad in Marutharode grama panchayat. "My son was killed two years ago when a truck ran over him in Tamil Nadu," said Raman, a member of the Scheduled Caste community. He studied only up to Class 1 and has been cleaning vessels in restaurants for a living since he was eight years old.

Raman lives with his wife, daughter, and son-in-law in a single room covered by a simple asbestos sheet. "When I told my Congress ward member that I needed a house, he suggested I use my son's insurance money once I received it. That's why I came to Suresh Gopi," Raman said.

Suresh Gopi's response to Raman mirrored that of 'Metroman' E Sreedharan, who, speaking at the BJP's election convention in Palakkad on Monday, said: "If Kerala does not have a BJP MLA, especially from Palakkad, it is difficult to get Central government's help." 

The two leaders' words and actions buttressed the LDF government's repeated allegations that the BJP-led government was punishing Kerala for not electing BJP representatives to the Lok Sabha and the legislative assembly.